Duva: Conviction Means No Fight

January 19, 1992

PHILADELPHIA — Evander Holyfield ``will not fight Mike Tyson if he is convicted, no matter what anybody says,`` the heavyweight champion`s promoter says.

Dan Duva angrily answered a report that World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman, a Don King ally, was prepared to rule that Tyson would remain Holyfield`s mandatory challenger even if convicted on rape charges as long as he was free pending appeals.

But Duva said there was no way Holyfield would fight a convicted rapist. Tyson`s trial is to begin Jan. 27 in Indianapolis.

Ross Levinsohn, a spokesman for Time Warner, whose pay-per-view branch, TVKO, would televise Holyfield-Tyson, agreed a conviction would mean that his company would drop out. It was expected Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, site of the proposed fight, would also drop out.

Duva said Holyfield would probably take a fight in April while awaiting the Tyson verdict. The likely opponent: George Foreman or Riddick Bowe.